X - V
Short part this time.
Info: One-shot (will be posted in parts)
Status: WIP, 1000 words
Genre: Suspense, and also Angst, apparently
Rating: M (for strong language and themes)
Pairing: Smoker/Ace eventually
Summary: [AU] Do the evolution
--
V
--
number,
--
Yet from those flames,
No light, but rather darkness visible.
(John Milton, Paradise Lost)
--
Ace hated suits. They were restrictive and controlling and conforming. When wearing them, he didn't feel like himself. (Not like he had a damn clue what 'himself' was, but he knew what it wasn't.)
Whitebeard made everyone wear suits when talking to him. It maintained a sense of professionalism, or whatever bullshit he said. So Ace would be wearing another person's skin.
He looked forward to the day he could burn every suit he owned and walk around in whatever he wanted.
--
"Welcome back," Marco said blandly when Ace stepped out of the helicopter. "Your room is in the same place as usual."
Ace grunted in acknowledgement (wait, what? when did he start acting like Smoker?). He noticed the luggage Marco had with him. "Going somewhere?"
"I have a job to do," Marco answered vaguely.
Nodding, Ace waited for the other man to leave before heading into the facility. He took his time wandering through the familiar iron and concrete labyrinth until he reached his door.
A few buttons, a touch of a finger, a spoken word, and Ace had successfully returned to his prison.
--
"Hey."
No response.
"Say something, at least."
"I'm busy."
"Damn it Smoker, I wouldn't be bothering you if it wasn't important."
"Fine, what is it."
"I'm going to be away for about ten days. Already got approval from superiors."
"Why."
"Dad needed to talk to me about something. I'm not sure about what, but my friend said it was urgent."
"You have friends?"
"Haha, very funny. Although I did use 'friend' loosely this time. He's a bigger ass than you are, surprisingly. At least you don't talk my ear off."
"When are you leaving?"
"Next week, probably Tuesday. Are we doing anything important?"
"Nothing I need you for."
"Alright. But if something important comes up, call me and I'll come back earlier."
"Your father won't care?"
"Ha! As if he ever gave a shit in the first place."
--
Ace coughed and hungrily sucked air into his lungs. He briefly flared into flame and the bruises around his neck flickered back into unblemished skin.
"You little shit," Whitebeard growled. "Are you trying to fuck up my plans?"
"Well what was I supposed to do?" Ace snarled. "Let her shoot me in the fucking head?" A fist connected with the side of his face and he spat out the resulting blood. "I'm not planning on getting killed by a lunatic, thanks."
"You have one of our allies locked in fucking solitary."
Ace opened his mouth to explain it was Smoker's fault.
But nothing came out.
He let the words fall to the back of his throat and tied them there with silent vocal cords.
Whitebeard glared (reminding Ace of someone) and said, "If you do something like this again you're not getting off this damn easy. You're nothing but a fucking tool. Remember: once tools are no longer useful, they are thrown away. Understand, you fucking shithead?"
And all Ace could do was nod bitterly.
--
The call came just about ten minutes after midnight in the middle of his way home.
Ace jerked out of sleep at the electronic trilling and reached into his pocket. "Hello?" he answered, covering his free ear with a hand to block the sound of the helicopter.
"Ah, s-sorry for waking you up, Ace." It was Tashigi, but with an unfamiliar stutter that indicated something had happened.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked, now wide awake.
"Th-there's been a situation downtown. Smoker wants y-you to c-come back once you're able to…"
"What's wrong?" Ace repeated. His wariness increased after hearing what sounded like muffled sobbing. Then he heard a noise as if someone else was taking Tashigi's phone, and for some reason he knew it was Smoker before the man even spoke.
"Portgas, just get the fuck over here now."
--
Ace could do nothing but stare.
On the way he had seen the thread of smoke curling ominously, illuminated by the unusual number of floodlights in the area. Then closer he saw the government vehicles. After getting off the helicopter a few blocks away and running to the scene, he saw the crowd of police and civilians. And after getting authorized to pass the blockade, he saw government workers grimly looking at the grisly sight before them.
All he could do was stare.
Broken conversations filtered hazily into Ace's mind. Whispered phrases abougt murder and charred bodies and messages of blood -
"Mr. Portgas?"
Ace turned around and looked at one of the many faceless workers at the government. "Yes?"
"Ms. Shigure told me to pass these to you."
"Thank you," Ace said, accepting the offered file. He opened it and paused.
Photos of corpses and who they used to be.
Ten photos of ten corpses and… who…
RodrigezSpandamWanzeJerryShiryuuKomirKevinMarkAliceSabo -
Ace swallowed the bile that had crept into the back of his dry mouth. No. It wasn't them. They just looked like them. Yes, that was it. Just an uncanny resemblance. A coincidental and uncanny resemblance.
He saw a footnote and recognized the shaky scrawl associated with Tashigi. 'Victims correspond with Fire Fist's victims in the past.'
The red ink in the dim lighting made Ace feel sick.
"There's an eleventh one that was different from the others," said the faceless man. And he pointed.
Eleventh?
Ace returned the papers and walked rigidly away from the crowd. He noted absently that Smoker was there too, but his eyes were drawn to the bloody text on the wall of a near decimated building.
'We're watching you.'
"There's an eleventh one that was different from the others."
His eyes roved downward -
"Going somewhere?"
"I have a job to do."
Ace took one look at the face of the person he had mistaken for Luffy and promptly threw up. He faintly heard Smoker walking toward him and saying something, but he couldn't understand a fucking thing and he was shaking like -
A small gasp escaped his lips when Smoker abruptly turned him around. And Ace accidentally looked at Smoker's face and saw a small sliver of something in the steely eyes that he associated with Luffy and -
"Portgas. What the fuck is wrong with you."
-- and it was fucking concern, damn it all -
"No…thi…"
I'm not okay. I'm not okay. I'm not fucking okay, I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm -
"Portgas."
"Everything," Ace choked, before closing his eyes and seeing nothing but ashes.
--
Previous || Next
Info: One-shot (will be posted in parts)
Status: WIP, 1000 words
Genre: Suspense, and also Angst, apparently
Rating: M (for strong language and themes)
Pairing: Smoker/Ace eventually
Summary: [AU] Do the evolution
--
V
--
number,
--
Yet from those flames,
No light, but rather darkness visible.
(John Milton, Paradise Lost)
--
Ace hated suits. They were restrictive and controlling and conforming. When wearing them, he didn't feel like himself. (Not like he had a damn clue what 'himself' was, but he knew what it wasn't.)
Whitebeard made everyone wear suits when talking to him. It maintained a sense of professionalism, or whatever bullshit he said. So Ace would be wearing another person's skin.
He looked forward to the day he could burn every suit he owned and walk around in whatever he wanted.
--
"Welcome back," Marco said blandly when Ace stepped out of the helicopter. "Your room is in the same place as usual."
Ace grunted in acknowledgement (wait, what? when did he start acting like Smoker?). He noticed the luggage Marco had with him. "Going somewhere?"
"I have a job to do," Marco answered vaguely.
Nodding, Ace waited for the other man to leave before heading into the facility. He took his time wandering through the familiar iron and concrete labyrinth until he reached his door.
A few buttons, a touch of a finger, a spoken word, and Ace had successfully returned to his prison.
--
"Hey."
No response.
"Say something, at least."
"I'm busy."
"Damn it Smoker, I wouldn't be bothering you if it wasn't important."
"Fine, what is it."
"I'm going to be away for about ten days. Already got approval from superiors."
"Why."
"Dad needed to talk to me about something. I'm not sure about what, but my friend said it was urgent."
"You have friends?"
"Haha, very funny. Although I did use 'friend' loosely this time. He's a bigger ass than you are, surprisingly. At least you don't talk my ear off."
"When are you leaving?"
"Next week, probably Tuesday. Are we doing anything important?"
"Nothing I need you for."
"Alright. But if something important comes up, call me and I'll come back earlier."
"Your father won't care?"
"Ha! As if he ever gave a shit in the first place."
--
Ace coughed and hungrily sucked air into his lungs. He briefly flared into flame and the bruises around his neck flickered back into unblemished skin.
"You little shit," Whitebeard growled. "Are you trying to fuck up my plans?"
"Well what was I supposed to do?" Ace snarled. "Let her shoot me in the fucking head?" A fist connected with the side of his face and he spat out the resulting blood. "I'm not planning on getting killed by a lunatic, thanks."
"You have one of our allies locked in fucking solitary."
Ace opened his mouth to explain it was Smoker's fault.
But nothing came out.
He let the words fall to the back of his throat and tied them there with silent vocal cords.
Whitebeard glared (reminding Ace of someone) and said, "If you do something like this again you're not getting off this damn easy. You're nothing but a fucking tool. Remember: once tools are no longer useful, they are thrown away. Understand, you fucking shithead?"
And all Ace could do was nod bitterly.
--
The call came just about ten minutes after midnight in the middle of his way home.
Ace jerked out of sleep at the electronic trilling and reached into his pocket. "Hello?" he answered, covering his free ear with a hand to block the sound of the helicopter.
"Ah, s-sorry for waking you up, Ace." It was Tashigi, but with an unfamiliar stutter that indicated something had happened.
"What's wrong?" Ace asked, now wide awake.
"Th-there's been a situation downtown. Smoker wants y-you to c-come back once you're able to…"
"What's wrong?" Ace repeated. His wariness increased after hearing what sounded like muffled sobbing. Then he heard a noise as if someone else was taking Tashigi's phone, and for some reason he knew it was Smoker before the man even spoke.
"Portgas, just get the fuck over here now."
--
Ace could do nothing but stare.
On the way he had seen the thread of smoke curling ominously, illuminated by the unusual number of floodlights in the area. Then closer he saw the government vehicles. After getting off the helicopter a few blocks away and running to the scene, he saw the crowd of police and civilians. And after getting authorized to pass the blockade, he saw government workers grimly looking at the grisly sight before them.
All he could do was stare.
Broken conversations filtered hazily into Ace's mind. Whispered phrases abougt murder and charred bodies and messages of blood -
"Mr. Portgas?"
Ace turned around and looked at one of the many faceless workers at the government. "Yes?"
"Ms. Shigure told me to pass these to you."
"Thank you," Ace said, accepting the offered file. He opened it and paused.
Photos of corpses and who they used to be.
Ten photos of ten corpses and… who…
RodrigezSpandamWanzeJerryShiryuuKomirKevinMarkAliceSabo -
Ace swallowed the bile that had crept into the back of his dry mouth. No. It wasn't them. They just looked like them. Yes, that was it. Just an uncanny resemblance. A coincidental and uncanny resemblance.
He saw a footnote and recognized the shaky scrawl associated with Tashigi. 'Victims correspond with Fire Fist's victims in the past.'
The red ink in the dim lighting made Ace feel sick.
"There's an eleventh one that was different from the others," said the faceless man. And he pointed.
Eleventh?
Ace returned the papers and walked rigidly away from the crowd. He noted absently that Smoker was there too, but his eyes were drawn to the bloody text on the wall of a near decimated building.
'We're watching you.'
"There's an eleventh one that was different from the others."
His eyes roved downward -
"Going somewhere?"
"I have a job to do."
Ace took one look at the face of the person he had mistaken for Luffy and promptly threw up. He faintly heard Smoker walking toward him and saying something, but he couldn't understand a fucking thing and he was shaking like -
A small gasp escaped his lips when Smoker abruptly turned him around. And Ace accidentally looked at Smoker's face and saw a small sliver of something in the steely eyes that he associated with Luffy and -
"Portgas. What the fuck is wrong with you."
-- and it was fucking concern, damn it all -
"No…thi…"
I'm not okay. I'm not okay. I'm not fucking okay, I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm -
"Portgas."
"Everything," Ace choked, before closing his eyes and seeing nothing but ashes.
--
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